Orange County SC takes match 4-2
It was a sluggish start for the Oakland Roots in their 2025 USL Championship season debut on Saturday, March 8, at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California. Oakland fell behind Orange County SC by three goals early in the second half, but the squad never looked defeated, finding their footing late in the match and rallying just short of a comeback, as Orange County won the match 4-2.
Both sides took time to adjust to the competitive pace of a new season early on in the match, trading possession often, but neither side generated any truly dangerous scoring opportunities.
Orange County settled in more quickly, opening the scoring in the 28th minute by taking advantage of a counter-attack opportunity. OC’s Kevin Partida received a through ball into the Oakland box, sending a shot just wide across the face of the goal past Roots keeper Kendall McIntosh. Waiting in the open area just in front of the right post was Ryan Doghman, who tapped in the empty netter to break the deadlock.
Orange County doubled the lead just moments into the second frame when Cameron Dunbar found space just inside the top right corner of the Oakland penalty area and lasered a shot near goal that was redirected into the twine off a header from Ethan Zubak in the 47th minute.
Just a few sequences later, in the 52nd minute, OC added on again with a set piece strike from the left side just outside the top line of the box. Orange County’s Nico Benalcazar rocketed a shot that bent over the Oakland wall and inside the left post to make it 3-0.
The Roots were down, but they never quite looked out, looking stronger and stronger as the match drew on. In the 71st minute, Oakland stole one back as Panos Armenakas sent a gorgeous cross to the left side to find a sprinting Wolfgang Prentice. Prentice charged into the OC penalty area and cut back to free up space before firing one home to make it 3-1.
Orange County went up by three again in added time when Kyle Scott received a good pass from his right while standing near the top of the Oakland penalty area and put a shot in the top right corner just where McIntosh couldn’t reach it.
But the Roots still weren’t done fighting. After playing some tough minutes, EJ Johnson was able to draw a foul within the Orange County area, drawing a penalty kick which Baboucarr Njie deposited with ease into the bottom left corner, fooling the OC keeper to make it 4-2 just before the final whistle.
The Roots will have one more game on the road, a USL Championship contest at Monterey Bay FC on Saturday, March 15, before returning to Oakland for their first home opener in The Town since 2022. They will face San Antonio FC on March 22 at the iconic Oakland Coliseum at 7 p.m.
Summary
Scoring:
- OC: Ryan Doghman 28’
- OC: Ethan Zubak 47’
- OC: Nico Benalcazar 52’
- OAK: Wolfgang Prentice 71’
- OC: Kyle Scott 90’+
- OAK: Baboucarr Njie 90’+
Discipline:
- OAK: Tyler Gibson 3’ (yellow card)
- OAK: EJ Johnson 59’ (yellow card)
- OC: Christopher Hegardt 60’ (yellow card)
- OAK: Danny Gomez 62’ (yellow card)
- OC: Nico Benalcazar 67’ (yellow card)
- OC: Tom Brewitt 78’ (yellow card)
- OC: Kyle Scott 80’ (yellow card)
Oakland Roots SC
Lineup: Kendall McIntosh, Camden Riley (Gagi Margvelashvili), Kai Greene, Baboucarr Njie, Abdi Mohamed, Tyler Gibson, Daniel Gomez, Justin Rasmussen (Wolfgang Prentice), José Luis Sinisterra (Ilya Alekseev), Ali Elmasnaouy (EJ Johnson), Panos Armenakas (Luis Saldaña)
Unused subs: Thomas Camier, Timothy Syrel
Line: Shots: 7 | Shots on Goal: 3 | Corner Kicks: 3 | Fouls: 12 | Offside: 1
Orange County SC
Lineup: Colin Shutler, Tom Brewitt, Grayson Doody, Pedro Guimaraes (Ousmane Sylla), Kyle Scott, Christopher Hegardt (Roberto Molina), Nico Benalcazar, Ryan Doghman, Kevin Partida (Ashton Miles), Ethan Zubak (Benjamin Barjolo), Cameron Dunbar (Tristan Trager)
Unused subs: Tetsuya Kadono, Fernando Aguirre, Daniel Garcia
Line: Shots: 13 | Shots on Goal: 7 | Corner Kicks: 5 | Fouls: 11 | Offside: 2
